I've always thought about blogging. Then I thought, who could really care about my inane thoughts about hockey...or anything else for that matter. Really, aren't bloggers just enthusiasts without press credentials? Perhaps. I do know that I visit this site several times each day. What I've come to realize about bloggers is that, although they may not have access to the most reliable information, they usually make up for it with their passion for the topic they're blogging about. If I want real news, I go to a (so-called) news source such as CNN, the New York Times, the New York Post (put this one in to see if you're awake. I do read the Post but largely for the same reason I read blogs...fascinating), TSN or CBC for hockey news and stats. So I realize now that I read these blogs to gauge the level of passion for a given topic and to sustain or enhance my own passion and not necessarily for accuracy.

Ignore the previous paragraph...I often think aloud....to myself....just not usually in writing.

So...odd time of the year for one's first hockey blog, eh? Ahh....well....I'm a Rangers fan. A Rangers fan's season is almost a full year now-a-days with the most interesting portion coming between July and September. Now understand....with respect to the legions Rangers fans both present and past...I feel privileged. I'm a 41 year old male, I had Rangers season tickets from 1991 through 1998. I got to see Messier take the ice for the first time as a Ranger, got to see the Cup raised at the Garden, got to see Gretzky's final moments as a player. Arguably, the best 7 or 8 year span to be a Rangers fan in many decades. But it was still only 7 or 8 of the 30 or so years I've been a fan personally.

Ranger fans have an anticipation for the off-season and the prospects for retooling unlike that of any other hockey fan except maybe for those of the Leafs and Habs. But their enthusiam is institutionalized to an extent. It's almost genetic. The die-hard Rangers fan lives mostly in or near New York City (I live on Long Island) which presents a wealth of other sports and non-sports distractions (My interest in other sports isn't nearly as intense for other sports as it is for hockey. Although, I'm a fairly enthusiastic New York Jets fan. So, I'll be copying and pasting this entire blog onto a football blog site later today and replacing the hockey references with football ones). So much so that all hockey fans in this vicinity need to weed through a significantly larger amount of "enticements" than most fans to get their fix. I think it may require a focus unlike that of other hockey fans. In places like Montreal and Toronto, hockey news is always closer to the front and center of daily life even in the offseason (If I were ever to change allegiances I think I'd become a Leafs fan...that's my comfort zone).

So...I'm going to give this blogging thing a shot. I'd welcome any feedback anyone has to offer. Thanks in advance for your indulgence.